In an effort to answer many of the questions I get ask regularly by visitors to my web site, I thought I'd explain a little about these little rabbit machine we call beagles and the jargon that goes with.
For hundreds of years Beagles have been breed by hunters to chase rabbits. Through briar patches, under log piles, across creeks, and even down dirt roads, a good beagle can pursue a rabbits track with unmatched enthusiasm. Today the beagle breed is enjoying as much popularity as at any time in it's history. Unlike many breeds, the beagle is still as useful today as when it was originated in England. In fact, many people would argue the modern beagle is more proficient at it's trade than his ancestors ever were. While most beagles today are still owned by rabbit hunters and field trialers, the breed is popular among show enthusiasts and pet owners alike.
Since I fall into the rabbit hunter and field trialer categories, I'll discuss that facet of the breeds use.
Rabbit hunting is one of our countries oldest traditions. It is a great way to get kids involved in the out door sports and it's just plain fun!
So what should a beagle do when you go rabbit hunting? First and foremost, the beagle has to find a rabbit. Let me say now, beagles are not bird dogs! They do not coarse a field smelling for a hiding bunny to point for you. I have on occasion seen beagle operate in this type manner and with out fail, those dogs were so faulty at following the track, once the rabbit was up, it was impossible to call them rabbit dogs. What a good beagle should do is work in the briar patches and gully banks for a hiding rabbit. Normally the slower and more thorough the dogs hunts for the rabbit, the better his chances of finding one. The same can be said for the hunter as a rabbit will sit still and allow you to walk right by if you are not careful. If you are in a place where there are rabbits inevitably you or the dog one will jump a rabbit. Once this happens the beagle will begin to give pursuit. He will mark his progress my giving tongue or barking while he follows the track (rabbit trail.) While the beagle is chasing the rabbit, the hunter needs to be finding a good observation point close to where the rabbit was originally found. Normally in just a few minutes, the rabbit will come running by as he tries to allude the little beagle on his track. If you pay attention and have your trusty shot gun filled with 7 1/2 shot you'll have a chance to shoot as the bunny comes by. It would not be uncommon for the beagle to be as close as 10 yards to the rabbit or as far back as 70 yards. This is more dependent on the ground cover than any thing else. This process is repeated over and over again until you get tired of hunting or run out of shells or day light. Just for clarification, most hunters hunt with a pack of 3-7 hounds. The pack should work together to at there task.
A field trial is a gathering of many rabbit hunters and beagles in an attempt to see who has the best rabbit hunting dog that day Notice I didn't mention anything about how the hound pursues the bunny in the proceeding paragraph on hunting with a beagle. The fact is, it really doesn't matter as long as the dog can consistently bring game back by the hunter. At a field trial however, enthusiast want to see a balance between efficiently and style while the beagles chase the rabbit. It's kind of like owning a new pick-up, a small car can get you back and forth to work but most of us insist on driving a 16 MPG 4 wheel drive truck. Most top level hunting beagles compete in AKC Small pack option(SPO) or Gun Dog Brace field trials.
What happens at one of these field trials you wonder? Let me use the example of an AKC licensed SPO field trail (Lic trials are where points are earned towards becoming a field champion.) Hounds are first divided by sex and size. There's 13" and 15" males as well as 13" and 15" females. Of these classes the 13" hounds might be considered the "expert class", for lack of a better term, but top hounds can be found in all four classes. Suppose there were 70- 13" males at a trial. They have to be broken into packs of no more than 7. The packs are put together randomly and for this example we'll say there's 10 packs of 7. There's always 2 judges so the judges start their work of finding the top hounds. The first pack and there handlers along with the judges, head out for a simulated rabbit hunt. Game is found and the pack gives pursuit. Now the judges have to determine which dogs are doing the best that day. Normally the swinging or skirting hounds are ordered up first and next the dogs that are in back not getting any rabbit are eliminated. This usually leaves a few dogs in the middle who are really running the rabbit. Once the judges are satisfied and agree on the scoring, the pack is 'handled." As these dogs head back to the trucks to rest, the next pack is cast and the judges repeat the process. After they have looked at all 10 packs they will announce which dogs will need to come back to 2nd series. This would typically be 24 -35 hounds. These "called back" dogs are divided into packs and the same process as 1st series is followed. After 2nd series there is usually a third series followed by the final pack called the winners pack. The winner pack will consist of 5 - 9 hounds, although most experienced hound men know there is a risk of running more than 6 or 7. The judges will order up these hounds one or two at a time until they have five or less dogs still in competition. At this point the judges can may call "field trial" or game over. Everyone heads back to the club house to find out who won.
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